.:⋮Making plans⋮:.Chloe had decided to spend the rest of the day making a few final adjustments to Penny's soul. Smooth over those scars, fill in any gaps left behind by her splitting. It'd be bad if something else tried to work its way in. Reinforce it so it didn't get weakened. Eventually though, she'd simply spend the rest of the night with Penny.
Chloe woke with a stretch, climbing out of the bed and glancing over to Penny. Really, she put far too much work into this and she needed it to pay off sooner rather than later. Splitting a soul would have drastic repercussions, especially since it wasn't done with the coin. Very likely she'd be weakened beyond what was normal for something.
Well, as long as she could do what she asked, it didn't matter.
Penny last night had simply been happy. Pleased to simply be in Chloe presence, she was also much more tactile than usual. Always wanting to hold Chloe’s hand or cuddle up with her if possible. Thus it would likely be a small bit of a surprise to learn that Penny was already up and gone when Chloe woke up.
The question of where Penny was would be quickly answered as the apartment door would open shortly after this realization and Penny could be heard humming a random tune. Penny would stick her head into the bedroom and pout
“Aww, I was hoping I would make it back before you woke up” She would say with a hint of disappointment
“Have you been up long?” She would ask as she slipped fully into the room, dropping out of her transformation as she went, and she was obviously hiding something behind her back as well.
“Mmm, just woke up.” Chloe replied. She gave Penny a studious gaze. She seemed fine, for the most part still. That was good.
“You seem to be in a good mood.” The dark magical girl took a few steps towards her girlfriend, leaning from side to side, obviously aware she was trying to hide something.
“Eeeeh? Is my little Penny trying to hide something from me?~”“Maaaybe?” Penny would reply playfully as she twisted in opposition to keep what it was she had behind her back hidden
“I’m in a good mood. Just got back from the new store that opened up. Got myself a new weapon, since my other half walked away with my Fists” she would say with a childish grimace. Though it wouldn’t stay long before being replaced with a wide smile.
“And I picked up a gift for you! Even got it at a discount” She would remark her smile turning into a smug smirk.
“Just got to say the magic words to get it” Penny would say in a slightly sing-song way.
“Eeeeh...” Chloe pouted for a moment before her mouth turned into a grin. Well, if Penny wanted to play.
“Magic words, huh?” Chloe quickly closed the distance between her and Penny. She might have been technically smaller than the other girl, but she wasn't going to let herself be teased without a bit of payback.
“Hmm, I can't think of any magic words. Such a shame...but maybe I should go ahead and give you a fun little reward for the present? Skip right to my thanking you?” One of her hands wrapped itself around Penny's waist.
Penny would have a delighted grin on her face for just a moment while Chloe closed the distance between them. It would be replaced by a sheepish one when the smaller girl slipped her hand around Penny’s waist
“B-b-but how would you know how much a t-t-thank you want to give w-w-without knowing what it is?” the taller girl would stammer out due to the sudden proximity, blushing slightly.
She did not retreat however.
“And t-t-the magic words are easy. J-j-just have to think a-a-about how you ask for g-g-gifts” She would say trying to stand strong.
“Tsk, my dear little Penny.” Chloe giggled, she grabbed one side of Penny's face gently with a hand, gently rubbing her cheek.
“A gift from you always deserves as much thanks as I can give...like this~” Penny would feel Chloe's lips on her other cheek, lingering for longer than just a simple show of affection...and then she'd feel Chloe's hand swipe the present from behind the other girls back before Chloe broke contact, jumping away with a teasing grin.
“Fufufu, thanks for the show, Penny.” She teased.
“Glad to know your still as adorable despite what happened, hehe...and...oh wow.” Chloe blinked in surprise at what she had swiped from Penny.
“It's...a doll...of...you?!” For a moment, Chloe seemed to try and process this before laughing brightly.
“Oh, this is for me? I suppose even when you're not here I can have you all to myself now, huh?”Penny was more or less putty in Chloe’s hand, stunned and completely swept up in the moment of teasing. Thus it took her a moment to come back to her senses when Chloe swiped the gift she had brought. [color=C76689][b]“Chloe” she would say with a pout even as she was still blushing.
The pout would clear away as she smiled softly.
“Of course it’s for you” Penny would say as she gave Chloe as side hug
“I’m glad you like it” She would say just enjoying the look of glee on her girlfriends face.
“Any plans for the day?” She would ask quietly hoping that they would be able to simply spend the day together. She could start her investigation later after all, or pass it off to her other half to deal with.
“Well,” Chloe's appearance turned more serious as she placed the doll on a nearby table.
“As much as I'd like to be lazy today, I have things I need to do.” She said with a mild hint of annoyance.
“And...I want to know how you are doing, Penny. You seem fine. Your soul is stable enough, but a split like that would likely make you weaker. You still have my token, don't you? You're probably a lot weaker than you were before and it concerns me.”“Yeah I’ve still got it” Penny would reply pulling the pendant out from under her shirt and held it up so that it could be seen
“And I can tell I’ve lost a bit of overall strength, but I don’t think it’s as bad as it could have been. I was boosting myself with my Coin reserve just before the Split.” She would explain letting the pendant drop.
“I can tell some things have changed, thinking is a bit slippery, but feeling has never been easier!” She would say with a large grin.
“I don’t think I can call on the Earth Bastion however. I can still feel the connection, but it’s just out of reach. Wonder if it’s the same for my other half.” She would muse as she moved to sit on the bed.
“My Powers still seem like they work, as I could feel my regen working as soon as we got back here last night. I lost my weapon, got a new one though so that’s not a big deal. And I’ve got a bit of magical ability now, which is nice”“Hm...” Chloe nodded. Well, that was expected, but just how weakened was she? Well, time to test the waters at least.
“...Penny, I know I said before I have a favor to ask, but I'm a little hesitant now.” She would say with a slight frown.
“With you being as you are, now, but I wouldn't want to put you in danger, but you're the only one I know that wouldn't try to get something out of me if I asked for help.” Chloe sighed, visibly wrestling with asking a question.
“...do you think you could kill my patron?”“Yes” Penny would reply almost before Chloe had finished asking and it would be easy to see Penny mentally step back and review the request more fully after she answered.
“I should still have access to my Killing Blow, but I’ve likely only got one shot of it.” She would add on slowly as she turned over the various thoughts and possibilities in her head.
“Do you have any frame of reference for how durable his hide is?” Penny would ask as she started to run the numbers on the rather ridiculous task of killing a dragon. Yet she wasn’t retracting her affirmation, Just seeking a way to prove it beyond just a feeling.
“Mhm, likely harder than any metal you've dealt with but I'm not sure how to compare it.” Chloe said with a small frown.
“But the crystalline growths on his hide are more fragile, so they would likely be your best bet at hurting him.” No need to mention the fact they were filled completely with corrupt energy and wouldn't likely be good to be around.
“Are any of these crystals located on his neck?” Penny would ask as she started to draw up a semblance of a plan on how to face the encounter
“And is this going to be an ambush or an assault?” If she could get the drop on him she would only need one good hit and she should be able to drop him, but she wasn’t sure how likely that was going to be.
“There may be a few, but the majority are on his legs and sides.” Chloe replied thoughtfully.
“Though I believe there may be one on the back of his head.” Getting a surprise attack off though? Chloe thought for a moment, placing a hand on her chin as she considered the available routes.
“Unfortunately, I don't see how you'd get a surprise attack on him. There's only one real way into his lair, and he'd know the moment you'd open the door...unless you had someway to maybe teleport in, but he's very sensitive to magic even then, so you'd only get a few seconds at most.”Penny grimaced at that, she wasn’t terribly surprised, but it still was going to make things much more difficult as the only Teleportation she knew of was the Beacon Teleporters and she doubted that they would be able to use them.
“And is there going to be anyone other than just us tackling it?” She would ask, shifting her ideas towards a battle of attrition. More people would make it easier to nickel and dime the dragon down after all.
“And when were you thinking of doing this?”“I was going to have Divina help you take care of it.” Chloe replied.
“She's not very suited to a long battle, but she should be able to help you. As for when,” The dark magical girl ended up taking a seat on a nearby couch.
“During the night of the party. I'd rather not have the Ascendancy snooping around if they feel a large discharge of magical energy. If they're busy with that, it will at least give me time to cover things up.”“Hmm” Penny mused over the information given but there wasn’t a whole lot else that could be done.
“Might want to find a medic for afterwards but otherwise I think we should be able to take care of it.” She rolled the idea around in her head for a moment longer before shrugging it off. She had said she would do it for Chloe, no reason to back down now.
“I'd help myself, but considering things, I don't think it'd be a good idea.” She sighed.
“I'll look into a medic. I have someone in mind, but at the moment I am hesitant to trust them. Assuming things go well though, I'd be more than happy to introduce the two of you.”“I get that” Penny would reply
“Going against your Patron hurts, trust me” She would absently rub a hand across her chest before shaking herself to banish that memory.
“Sounds like that’s all for that topic, but you mentioned you had other things to do today. Want my help?”Chloe hummed, leaning her head slightly to the side before smiling.
“Mhm, no, that's fine. I have some Mint work I need to take care of before they start getting uppity...though, if you want, we could test that new weapon of yours. There's always some monster that needs beating, I'm sure.”“Blech, Mint” Penny would make a disgusted face at the mention of the secretive organization
“Once your done on that end I’d love to go play with some monsters and get used to my new weapon, it’s got quite the fancy trick to it”“Well you'll have to show me then.” Chloe grinned, hopping up and giving Penny a quick hug.
“I'll be back later. And don't eat weird metal this time, please.”“No need to worry about that I think” Penny would deadpan as she returned the hug, holding it a moment longer to hide the uncomfortable look that flashed across her
“I’ll see you later”Penny would wait a few minutes after Chloe left and then she’d head out to the Sanctuary and see if she could help out with any of the reconstruction.
.:⋮Other side of the Coin⋮:.It was a normal afternoon at the Beacon HQ. Various girls walked the halls talking about various things. Some were talking about the training they had planned, some were still talking about the trial that was near a week ago at this point, and yet others were quietly preparing for a confrontation.
All of them would quiet down as they walked by one member however. For they were a member that none of them really seemed to know what to do with. After all, how does one reconcile the fact that a Monster had a Spark?
The girl in question, was unfazed by this, she found that she was unfazed by a lot more than she used to be. Regardless Penny stood silently at the front desk waiting. She had sent in a formal request to meet with Rachel a couple of days ago, she had wanted to try and understand the fiercely driven girl for reasons Penny had difficulty putting into words.
So here she was, waiting.
After a few minutes of waiting a familiar face would emerge.
”Hey Penny,” Alicia said to the waiting girl with a small wave. She then glanced at a clipboard that rested on the desk before nodding to herself.
”It says here you wanted to meet with Rachel, and that the Ascendancy signed off on it. I can take you there,” she told her friend. Once Penny had joined her, she would proceed walking through the HQ to the part where Rachel likely would be at this time. She had a few spots she liked to frequent when she wasn’t out in the city hunting down monsters, as Alicia had learned since taking on her new position.
Glancing over at her friend as they walked, she patted Penny on the shoulder.
”Good luck. I’m pretty sure she only ever interacts with me for longer than a minute because she has to for the job, so you’ve got your work cut out for you.””Acknowledged” Penny would reply evenly as she followed after her friend before tilting her head to the side. It was obvious that the split had effected this half of Penny as at times she was much more robotic then she had ever been while whole, and no one was more aware of this then Penny herself
“I am willing to simply listen if Rachel is willing to speak. I just seek to further my understanding.” Sometimes it was easier to remember how Penny had divided herself, that the girl next to her was only one half of the person that Alicia knew to be Penny. She still felt bad about that and wished she could do more, but she was starting to accept it.
”Alright, just be careful. If she starts getting to you just remember that we’re all on the same side. I don’t want to say that she might try to provoke an incident, but it’s not impossible,” Alicia warned her. It never hurts to be careful.
A slight smile would appear on Penny’s face at that warning, Alicia was a far better friend then Penny had ever given her credit for.
“Provoking me is going to be difficult, very difficult. But I shall keep that in mind.” After all, her other half seemed to be the one who walked away with most of their emotions. Though that was rather advantageous, made facing all of her old actions easier which was one of the reasons she had wanted to go through with the split.
Nodding, Alicia fell silent as they walked the rest of the way to where Rachel and the Ascendancy waited.
“Good luck,” she added, just before leaving Penny for her meeting.
The Ascendancy was at the training hall, having set up a sparring session. Blades clashed and spells were cast as the girls went at each other, with Rachel yelling out commands like a drill sergeant.
“Focus! Aim to flank them more! And you, concentrate on keeping up defensive movement!” She then noticed Penny, and turned to face her. “Take a break,” she yelled to the sparring people, and examined the girl. She squinted, and made a quick hand signal to alert the other members; they summoned their weapons, but didn’t point them. “You do not match our profile for Penny. Identify yourself,” she ordered.
“My designation is Penny Asimov. Your profile was rendered inaccurate as of five days ago” Penny’s response was crisp, clean, and utterly lacking in emotion. She stood there faced with the entirety of the Ascendency ready to open hostilities at a moment’s notice, and all she could bring herself to feel was a few hints of annoyance.
She missed Alicia’s presence already.
“I have submitted the necessary forms to have it updated at the same time that I submitted a request for a personal meeting with Rachel” Penny would go on to say not shifting her stance in the slightest as she slowly drew her gaze across all of the assembled members. She had come to a stop already standing in optimal alignment to defend herself if needed. As the odds weren’t exactly in her favor after all.
Rachel’s gaze lingered for a couple of seconds more, until she spoke: “Colonel Cuddles. Requesting an update on Penny Asimov from Elora.” A Beckoner appeared, saluted, and about ten seconds later Elora came floating downstairs from the far side of the hall.
“Penny Asimov’s claims are confirmed, Inquisitor,” the cybermancer confirmed, her keyboard clacking away as she type, not looking in the direction she was moving, yet she stopped at the exact row the other members were. “Her submitted form matches her current state as well. Classification S,” she added, and Rachel nodded with a squint. “Very well. Penny, follow me. We will discuss this in private.”
She grabbed a note Elora held out as she passed by the girl, and began reading it as she moved to the private meeting room. She closed the door after Penny entered, and took a seat.
“According to this form, you have split yourself in two five days ago. Explain the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the cause for it as well as any people involved in it.” She demanded, sounding suspicious.
Penny for her part, quietly followed after Rachel, and simply took the seat across from the girl before replying
“My soul was trying to destroy itself.” She would state simply, her eyes locking on to Rachel’s
“An event occurred between myself and a Monstergirl under service of my prior patron, that was responsible for triggering the situation. The Split involved myself, Paladin Alicia, and a third party unaffiliated with Beacon. My other half is currently residing with said third party.”She would tilt her head to the side before asking
“Why do you want to know?”Rachel placed her elbows on the table, her fingers interlocked together as she looked over them at the robotic girl. “Because you shouldn’t exist. Your soul was split? That is another unprecedented incident.” She took a quick glance at the notes. “The Seraph Paladin had reported that you retained your monstrous form after purification.” She stood up, and began walking around the table with her arms behind her, occasionally passing Penny.
“From my understanding, the White Coin should have stopped any forceful attempts to inflict such on you. Did you corrupt yourself after the purification was done?” She stopped behind Penny. “Was your soul split because the ShineSpark could not tolerate the foul curses you have willingly embraced?”
Penny sat still and watched Rachel as she spoke, the entire time Penny ever took her eyes off of her, even when the other girl got up and began to circle her she simply rotated her head to follow.
“I feel that you are trying to understand why it is I am how I am while also housing a Spark.” She would say when Rachel came to a stop.
“If I give you my thoughts on that matter will you be willing to answer a question of mine?” She would ask calmly as she kept her gaze locked onto Rachel’s. She wasn’t intimidated or impressed with the Ascendency leader’s tactics and she had no problem letting that show.
Rachel grit her teeth, but continued walking with a thinking expression. When she reached her chair, she placed a hand on it. "I accept your terms," she answered, tapping her fingers in a tense rhythm against the back of it.
“You are likely aware of monsters, of how they can grow and adapt, I find it unlikely that you have ever been able to witness the progress personally with a insight into their thoughts.” Penny would begin simply
“I have. My Monster has always been different from others that I have encountered. It is a mechanical creation, bound to its logic rather than its emotions. It never truly slept, it sat in the background of my mind and it watched, every time I encountered something new it would break it down as far as it could in an attempt to understand it.” She spoke clearly and calmly even if what she spoke about was possibly heretical, she did make sure to blink on occasion so it didn’t seem like she was staring.
“The reason it was as destructive as it was also has to do with the fact that it was a machine. My prior patron had installed priority directives into its code, ones that it could not refute while it was piloting. One thing that both me and my monster agreed upon was that no one enjoys being enslaved.”“It is because of these traits, along with a fairly large portion of my prior chassis being donated to me by the Beacon, that I believe that when the White coin was used my Monster was able to rewrite itself to become synchronized with the blessed magic that pours forth from the Spark rather than anathema to it.” She was very certain that there was only one person alive that would be able to tell that she was speaking from the wrong perspective. After all everything she said was true, it was just that she was the Monster. The human half knew this just as well, but she hadn’t lived it like the machine half had.
“Is there any clarification you require before I speak my inquiry?”Rachel’s stoic expression seemed to, for the first time, falter a bit, as she listened to Robo Penny’s explanation. At times she opened her mouth as if to say something during it, only to go back to hearing more of her bizarre tale.
“I see...Never in the history of Beacon have I seen a monster who has successfully rebelled against their dark nature. Then again, I have never seen a robotic monster before.”
She stopped rapping her fingers on the chair.
“But what you have said matches the profile we were given by the Paladin Seraph, and you do not possess any corruption within you.” She walked up to Penny, her gaze unflinching.
“I will need to first file a submission, but for now...Penny Asimov...” She held a hand out towards her. “...You may operate as a member of Beacon.” She then averted her eyes, as if she was pained to say the next sentence. “Report to Seraph Paladin Alicia.”
Penny would accept the hand offered to her
“Thank you for your approval” And it was an earnest thank you, though Penny would have continued acting as a representative of Beacon regardless of such it was still nice to be given a more official welcome.
She would remain sitting however she had her own reasons for this meeting as well after all
“Currently me and my other half are at a fundamental odds with each other. An Ideological difference. I possess the means to initiate a merger, yet without more information I fear that my other half will continue to fight against it, leading to either a broken merger, or the destruction of our soul.”“Our first months within the magical world gave us a distorted perspective on the dark magicals. It is easy to sympathize with them, I wanted to ask you why it is you hate them with such zeal” She would ask her gaze turning from its simply passive observation to one of more focused curiosity.
“Why do you feel that all those with any touch of corruption must be destroyed?” her voice held no hint of reprimand or anger,only simple curiosity.
Rachel had a look of utter contempt in her eyes as the conversation shifted. She sat down. "You have seen them, haven't you? The answer should be obvious." Her nails dug into the back of her hand. "They're freaks, abominations. I have seen them burn down cities, hunt down and slaughter innocents, play with the souls of the dead...And even worse." Her breathing turned a bit heavier as her nails now drew blood, and she looked down at them. "They're devils who will go to any lengths, no matter how deviant, just because they can. Even those who can be reasoned with will do so to stab you in the back." She then lifted her eyes up to look at Robo Penny. "But...You managed to resist. You escaped the dark side. Now, all we need to do is to fully purge the other you." She cast a spell, and her hand had healed.
"Will you be ready for that?"
Penny would sit back as she listened to Rachel, watched as the depth of her hate played out in front of her. One of her eyes would flash as she pulled up countless incident reports that Beacon had on hand. It wasn’t hard to see what Penny was trying to do, she was trying to make the connection. Trying to place herself in Rachel's position and understand the fundamental reason behind that hate.
“No,” Penny would reply at length
“I don’t think I will. As that would condemn me to a life with only half a soul” She would blink once and the myriad reports opened up would close.
“I will seek to reconcile with my other half, as it is…Cold...To be without them,” She would say nodding slightly to herself
“But I do not begrudge you for seeking to purge her. I can see where you come from, even if I have difficulty comprehending it.”Rachel looked aside, her elbow on the table as she held her chin up with her hand.
“As long as you understand that, it will have to suffice. Very well then; I will give you the right to recombine with your other half. But if I see the need for it, I will revoke that right.” She stood up, and turned to the door. “That is all. Dismissed.” She then walked out of the door at a brisk pace, already issuing commands to a Beckoner as soon as she turned the corner.
Penny would stay behind for a bit longer replaying the conversation in her mind. After a while she would shake her head and stand up. She hadn't quite gotten what she had wanted from the conversation but she got the feeling that she never would. She had tried however, and that felt like an accomplishment.
She left the meeting room in search of one of her friends. She would see if any of them needed any additional help before heading out on patrol.
Light the Dark
Mistress Dizzy
Majoraa
Izurich
LG
twave
